If you’ve done a great job of marketing and merchandising for this holiday season, you will undoubtedly attract shoppers new to your store. Will they love their entire in-store experience as well as your selection? That’s the way to retain customers after the holiday shopping season. Here are some ways you can build both sales and build long-term customer relationships.  

Start right now.

It is indeed the quality of each customer’s experience that tips the scales in your favor for future shopping. The smart strategies and little extras you use to boost holiday sales will turn your store into a memorable, must-shop destination in 2016. The key is to appeal to both brand new customers and your existing clientele, as well.

• Offer first-timer specials – to the first 10 who retweet something about your store, or who like a specific Facebook post, or who bring your direct mail postcard into the store.
• Offer repeat-customer specials – exclusive merchandise preview or demo events, bring-a-friend evenings, or refer-a-friend discounts.
• Hold a holiday-themed contest to attract new interest and further engage past customers. Promote it via multi-channel marketing.
• Consider giving gift cards in smaller denominations as “instant reward” thank-yous to higher-spending customers.
• Personally thank every shopper for browsing or buying.

Tune up your technology.

Make sure your online presence is complete and up-to-date. That includes listing information (especially store hours and location details) as well as your website. And, since “things happen,” be prepared to accept payments manually, if you have to.  

Give every customer amazing service.

Shoppers are frazzled. You and your sales associates are frazzled, too, but it’s your job is to relieve the customer’s stress. Your warm smile and attentive assistance will be big winners with people, every time. Don’t simply ring up sales, help each customer find exactly what they’re looking for – or help them figure out what that might be. If you can give them choices, better yet. Think solutions, not just sales. One customer at a time.

Give ‘em a reason to smile.

With a long list in hand and a short timeframe to complete their shopping, customers can quickly forget the reason they’re shopping in the first place. The holidays are supposed to be fun and festive. Make it so, with music, snacks, superior product knowledge, and great recommendations. And when the inevitable Grinch gets in your face, keep smiling and listen intently to their complaint, so you can help solve their problem. Replacing an expected confrontation with “let’s fix this” will earn you a customer for life.

Build your marketing list.

Invite every customer to sign up for your email updates about new merchandise, upcoming specials, and events. Offer an incentive such as entry into a drawing for a great gift (or gift certificate). Do the drawing in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, or wait to make the winner your first big announcement of 2016.

Treat every customer as a “holiday gift” to your store this season, and you’ll see bigger sales now and bigger repeat business after the holiday season is over.

Palmer Retail Solutions strives to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service, and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. For more information about our designs, retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks, or point of purchase displays, visit our website at: http://www.palmerretailsolutions.com.